


Steps

by ElizabethWilde



Series: Unhealthy Obsessions [5]
Category: Bloody Roar
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Friendship, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-08-02
Updated: 2002-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-10 19:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2036883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethWilde/pseuds/ElizabethWilde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shenlong turns to an old 'friend' for advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Steps

**Author's Note:**

> Song used is "#1 Crush" by Garbage

*I will burn for you  
Feel pain for you  
I will twist the knife and bleed my aching heart  
and tear it apart*

"Gah! Damn, don't do that!" The curvaceous blond snapped, re-affirming her grip on the bags of groceries in her arms. She sent an annoyed glare toward the man who had given her such a start, then shoved the bags into his arms. "I'll get the door, you carry those." After a moment, Jenny shoved the door open and stepped inside. "You can throw those down in the kitchen. Nothing breakable and nothing that won't keep." 

Once the man had complied, he returned to the living room, where Jenny was busy removing her shoes and throwing them into a corner. "Sit down. I'm interested to know why you're here."

Shenlong hesitated for a moment, then sat down in a chair near the door. "I would like to ask you for some... advice."

"Advice, huh?" Jenny sat down on the couch and curled her feet beneath her. "What kind of advice exactly?"

"Advice on... on women."

The model grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Wanna know how to impress the ladies, huh? Got anybody particular in mind?"

"Shina."

"Shina... Shina Gado?!" Jenny's eyes were wide and she groaned. "Oh, Lord. You know how to pick 'em. Creating one hell of a conflict of interests for me too. Alan-Gado-and me go way back. Feel sort of bad not telling him his daughter is dating... well, you."

"I understand." 

He rose as if to leave but Jenny said, "Whoa! Sit yourself down, buddy boy. I didn't say I won't help. I imagine you really need it if you came here to me. Points for bravery. So... you've given up the psycho bit? Kidding, of course. What's with the two of you? I mean, you're... dating?"

"We slept together."

"Okay. Was there dating before that?" Jenny prompted.

"No."

"Oh." She bit her lip, then ventured, "So what did you want advice on exactly? Because I don't do sex ed. Well, for you."

"I would like to... know her," Shenlong replied, face solemn as ever.

"Know her?" Jenny's emerald eyes finally lit with understanding. "You care about her! Does she feel the same way?"

He frowned and looked away. "I tried to... to speak with her, and... she asked me to leave."

"Damn. Not hopeless, but that does put a wrench in the works. She's scared." Jenny didn't need to add, 'Or she just doesn't like you as anything but a sex toy.' "I've known her for a long time. We're not friends or anything. She didn't appreciate the, uh, nature of my relationship with her father. But I know enough to know she isn't easy to get know. Hell, even Gado probably doesn't know much about her. She's a 'tough girl'. Likes to pretend she doesn't need anything or anyone. Not an easy way to live.

"Anyway, she's got all kinds of walls and boundaries. Just because she let you into her bed doesn't mean she wants to settle down and have kids." Jenny seemed lost in thought for a moment. "She's kind of the anti-me relationship-wise. I've never slept with anyone I didn't care about. I may not have been in love, but I cared. I don't know if Shina's ever been with anyone she wanted to spend more than a night with. Anything more than that requires attachments and feelings and all sorts of uncomfortable stuff like that.

"Tell me something: Do you care about her enough to want to break the walls down? If you don't, you might as well find somebody else to play with. Getting to Shina won't be easy and it won't be fun, and it's gonna hurt the both of you like hell. So... do you want to?"

Before he could reply, the door opened and Long stepped inside, face shifting from a smile to blank shock, then tentatively back again. Jenny stood and gave him a quick kiss. "We've got company."

"I... see."

"He needs advice on women."

"Ah."

"So he came to talk."

"Ah."

"So we're just going to keep talking while you stand there and absorb this."

"Alright."

Jenny sat on the couch again, pulling Long down beside her, keeping him furthest away from Shenlong. "So do you?"

"I do," Shenlong replied quietly, looking almost as dazed and confused as Long.

"That's the main thing. If you care, you'll try. Your problem comes from lack of emotional stability and not knowing a damn thing about romance. Right?"

He nodded, looking only mildly irritated at her assessment.

"I figured. Keep it simple. Shina's not the kind of girl who wants her name written in the sky. That would piss her off. Here I am forced to ask a question I really don't want to know the answer to at all: When you two are, uh, together... that is... Oh, hell, do you make love or do you fuck?"

There was no hesitation before Shenlong said, "We fuck." 

"There's part of the problem. Rough and dirty's fun as a supplement, but it's best to start with... exploring. Little late for the 'shouldas,' though, so we'll move on to what comes next: Leave her a letter."

"A letter?"

"A letter. You don't have to be all flowery and weird about it. That would just make her think you're a raving lunatic. It's not you. Be yourself. Tell her how you feel, tell her what you want." Jenny leaned forward and shook her finger in his face as she said, "The most important thing is: NO MIND GAMES. Women don't like them. Well, okay, so we do sometimes. But it's not the way to go if you want to stay with her. You need to be honest and straightforward. New territory for you, but, hey, what isn't, right? I mean, you're... what? Three years old?"

"What are we talking about?" a slightly worried voice asked from behind Jenny.

Leaning back into Long's arms, the woman replied, "The kid here is trying to impress his girlfriend. Oh, get this-he's with Shina!"

Long's eyes went wide with horror. "Why did you tell me?!"

"Because you asked," she replied with a slightly evil grin.

Long made a noise of disgust and winced. "I just got a mental image!"

"It's your own fault." With that, Jenny sat up straight again. "So you're going to write a letter, tell her how you feel, then use your common sense on what the next move is. If you don't have common sense... try to think about what somebody sane might do."

Shenlong frowned slightly, but replied, "Alright. And that will work?"

Jenny shrugged. "Won't know until you try." 

Shenlong rose and moved toward the door. "Thank you."

"No problem. Good luck, huh?" Jenny watched as the clone exited the apartment. "Well, that was an easy nine out of ten on the weird-o-meter." When Long didn't respond, Jenny craned her neck to look over at him. "Honey, are you okay?"

Eyes still wide, Long shook his head.

Jenny smirked, then stood, grabbing Long's hands and pulling him along behind her. "C'mon, we're gonna go take a shower. That should take care of the dirty feeling." She threw a smile back at him. "Well, should replace it with a different one anyway."


End file.
